Things I Have Learned In My Youth

1. NEVER EVER EVER wear overalls camping. You WILL pee on the straps

2. NEVER EVER EVER tell your mom you are "bored." She will find some chores for you

3. Eating too much cookie dough WILL give you diarrhea

4. ALWAYS tell your Grandma you loved the gift she gave you... because someday you will cherish it. (Even if it is a jersey dress that says Kitten on the back...for your 18th birthday)

5. If you are going to be late....CALL YOUR MOM. She will FREAK OUT if you don't....She ran off the road, she died, she got kidnapped....all run through her mind and she will give you a piece of it when you get home

6. Bread dough is not made with just flour and water...that makes rocks

7. If your parents ask "do you want to go shopping with me" don't get your hopes up because they mean grocery shopping. You MIGHT get a doughnut

Giving Thanks

Don't forget to give thanks for all of your many blessings!

Right now I am thankful for the little space heater under my desk that keeps my body temp above freezing!

This Is For You...Lisa/Mom

This last Saturday I went to the Christmas Bazaar with my friends...Lisa & Keri. I came ill-prepared with checks and plastics. No Cash. And it was practically a cash only event. So at the door, Lisa paid my entry fee....thanks mom.

Lisa is 28 and a new mother to her 7 (almost 8) month old daughter. She doesn't look 28. Maybe 26. So we are all walking around....three women and a stroller. We had lost Keri for a second, so Lisa and I stop at this "Meet the author" book signing for a local author of children's books. The books looked pretty cool to me, so we stopped.

The author asks Lisa what her daughter's name is and he then proceeds to insert her name into his story. Then he looks at me (wearing pig tails) and then looks back at Lisa and asks "Is this your other daughter?"

I LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND ALMOST DIED OF LAUGHTER!

Do I really look that young? I was 17 when my little brother was born. When he and I would venture off in the grocery store together, everyone would compliment on how cute we were and ask how old he was ...... I would always let them know he was my brother. They probably thought I was lying then, but how do I still look a daughter. Soon I'll be a mother!

Oh, and the rest of the day I called Lisa "Mom."

13

Montana (my sister) is 15 months older than I......remember this in my following stories.

I was in 3rd grade when it became a REQUIREMENT that I wear a sports bra. My sister laughed and giggled because she was still in the training stage. A short time later we had this hilarious but embarrassing conversation:

"Hey Rell, is that hair under your arms?"
I lift up my arms...

"Yeah"

"That's disgusting"

"You're disgusting"

"I bet if we put tape on it and rip it off really fast, the hair will come off. Lacy and I do it all of the time to our arms" She was talking about their forearms

"Do you have any tape?"

We rummaged through the house and found blue painters tape. We all know that the blue tape doesn't rip anything off, so we tried scotch tape, and then duct tape. Needless to say, she made me self conscious and from then on, I cupped one hand around my arm pit every time I had to raise the other in class.

When Montana was a Junior, she was still sporting the "A" cup.....so when I walked into high school wearing over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders, everyone would stare straight at my chest ....instead of looking at my face.

Now that everyone knows there is a bun in my oven, they look straight to my belly. For those of you that can't see it, here is what it looks like (through the dirty bathroom mirror):





Just to clarify, I small but not tiny. I have never been tiny, so this bump is just the beginning. I have gained 2 pounds and I am 13 weeks. And YES, my pants are unbuttoned due to the fact that it hurts to button them! I have learned the "rubber band trick" from my dear girl friends.

Tis' The Season

The other day I really wanted to make ginger/molasses cookies and I was in the mood for Christmas. I put in my Josh Groban Christmas CD and the song 'Thankful' came on. I put it on repeat for a while. I love it. You can listen to it here. (Its the only place where I could find the entire song....the dog is my favorite!)

I forgot half of the flour in the cookies. Nope, they didn't turn out. But that didn't put a damper on anything. This song gets me high!

Horse

This picture cracks me up for several reasons. I look ridiculous, my eyes....what is going on, my hair... is that a comb over, my smile....Its creepy.....



Anyways. My parents can vouch for me..... I have always had a really hard time swallowing pills. Until I was about 14, I begged my parents to buy the chewables. My dad wished I would grow up and would break the swallowables into pieces and told me to deal with it. I would put the pieces in my mouth and there they would sit until I could taste them. It became a mind game and I would only win half of the time.

Now that I am a big kid, I win about 95% of the time.

Did you know that prenatal vitamins come in two sizes: regular and horse. These horse pills are killing me. They say "don't eat plastic", but these pills are coated in plastic....its like the sugar that helps the medicine go down.

Us, In 30 years

Last Thursday for girls night, we played with Lisa's Cricut. I had never played with one...or even seen one outside of a infomercial before. It was amazing and became my new best friend. I came home in a glow and told Jake all about it and showed him the prizes I made.

"Its like a printer cutter-outer thing and it cuts stuff you want. And there are these little game boy things you put in with different designs programed on them.....and babe, I NEED ONE!"

So Friday morning Jake had an appointment with a couple in their 50's. He went to their home and talked insurance with them. Well, they got to talking about hobbies and the wife wanted to show Jake her craft room. (They really liked Jake). He said there was stuff everywhere and one of her drawers was open and he saw every paper edger in the world. He told her I would be jealous, and I am. Then he started talking with the husband and they both talked the dirt bike/quad talk. Jake mentioned that I get mad when he wants to buy extras and upgrades for his quad.

Then....the husband goes off on a tangent: "Oh, she gets so mad at me for stuff like that too. But its my hobby. I don't get mad at her when I have to buy her those "things" for her cricut."

Jake goes "Yeah, the little game boys!"



Later that day he told me all about his new best friends and how they are just like us (or what we will be like in 30 years). He had to go over to their house again last night and she had made him peanut butter cookies and even invited us over for Thanksgiving!

Boys Trip 2009

As you can see from earlier posts, Jake doesn't have any brothers. There was a family in his ward growing up that had 7 brothers and he hung out at their house a lot, broke their arms, and had a lot of fun. Well, he is somewhat adopted into the brotherhood and was invited on their annual "boys trip" to the dunes. A video was made...you can watch it. He is the one with the orange helmet, orange shirt, and yellow and black pants.

Something New To Look At

Unfortunately the charm of fall has worn off. With all of the rain and fallen leaves, there's just the bare tree left to look at. Well a little more than that. We moved in this house in May, when spring and summer where in full bloom. Now that the trees have shed their leaves, we have a new house to look at.




Yep, right through our window this house stares right back at us. Its a little creepy. The first time we noticed it, Jake shut the blinds. I have never seen anyone come out of it and it is partially covered in moss. But then again, moss is the natural siding and roofing in Washington.

What do you think?

We both think it is a boy....but we really don't care. I think it would be rad to have a mini Jake! He would be so funny and adorable. But I would love to have a girl and decorate every square inch of her room! We want to find out what it is but we have to wait until February....And that's if the legs aren't crossed.

A little background for your guess:

Jake: 5 sisters, 3 nieces, 1 nephew

Me: 3 sisters, 2 brothers

Folks, that's 11 girls and only 3 boys...we are rooting for a boy!

If I had it my way, I would have 2 boys and a girl (In that order)